And That Is Jazz

And over the weekend, we did five shows.

Previous choir performances that we took part in during our uni days were the traditional kind, where we walked in, lined up, sing, walk off. Oh, there was that plainsong canty bit we did where there was singing during our procession in and out of the churches where we performed too. This time, it's singing, moving, dancing and even a wee skit.

From Thursday night's performance we learned a few things.

There's showers in the dressing rooms.
Which is a very good thing. Our sweat glands have taken a turn for the worse, especially now that the weather has been getting warmer with no rain. That the moment we step out of our front door and make our way to the car our back's slick with sweat is not a good sign, whatmore prior to performance where we would have more rehearsals. Stepping out on stage only to look all sweaty from the start is a big no-no.

We don't scan the crowds.
Or rather, we can't. On the first night we had our contacts on and we still couldn't make out faces in the crowd. Plus after the first night our eyes were so dry we'd to do without the following nights. That would help when it comes to performing because we won't be distracted and made to laugh. Only one bit nearly broke us down was on our last performance, where just as we were beginning 'Yesterday', we heard a girl gave a moan of ecstasy. Almost cracked, we did.

It's bloody sweaty work.
For us. After each show, photo-taking is terrible as we seem to be the only one with a sweat-stained shirt showing in the photos. And we've to send our clothes to the laundry every single day. We rather envy those who could easily reuse their clothes for the following performance.

Mealtimes are haywire.
Because you'll have call time in at 5pm, rehearsals till 7ish, then you've gotta be ready by 8pm for performance, there's only a short span of time for us to mooch down our food. Otherwise dinner begins at 11pm onwards. The poor dim sum store that had to drag some 6 tables together to accomodate the lot of us never looked more harried.

Then there was our Saturday performances, where after the matinee show and director's notes, a lot of us rushed like mad starving people to stampede the nearby bahkutteh store for dinner. The car wasn't even parked when the rest of us actually flew out of the car and ordered while the driver parked. Midway through the meal the bill was called for, and once we were all done, the stampede left the store to head back to KLPac.

Once on stage, it's all good.
Just gotta get out there and then everything falls into place. Have fun, sing out, move about and try to please the crowd. And each show can only get better.

And it seems that we'll be staying on, to see how next year goes!